DF Eggnog [RECIPE]

I have been on a hunt for good eggnog. This is like a life-long goal of mine, because I know good eggnog exists, I've had it and love it, but  it seems to be so hard to find. Many commercial eggnogs taste like bubble gum to me (something about the sweeteners, I believe), so even before dairy was out of my life this was an adventure. I was all ready to try SoDelicious after getting great reviews (including from personal friends), but I also ran into some bad reviews saying it basically tasted lke coconut milk with nutmeg...definitely not what I was looking for. So, I hop online and start searching for recipes, and many people in ti dairy free circle have almost identical recipes, so I decided if this many people had the same idea it must be good. So I give it a try, and it's ok but still not quite right. I found the recipes too thin, not eggy enough, and surprisingly over spiced. So back to Google I go, searching for real eggnog recipes, and even creme anglaise for comparison. Research in hand, I made my second attempt and I am in love. This is a custardy, rich, smooth drink and I want to share the recipe with you all.

Dairy-Free Eggnog
(also soy-free; include tree nuts & egg)

Ingredients:
8 eggs, separated
2 ¼ c unsweetened macadamia milk
14.5oz or 400ml can coconut cream
⅔ c sugar + 2 Tbsp
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp nutmeg
½ tsp cinnamon
dash allspice

Instructions:
Bring macadamia milk, coconut cream, vanilla, and spices to a simmer.
While your milk mixture is heating up, whisk together eggs & sugar.
Slowly temper milk mixture into egg mixture, drizzling about 1 cup of the milk mixture into your eggs before you pour the entire egg mixture back into your pot, whisking to combine.
Continue whisking over a simmer for 4-5 minutes, keeping temp low.

For a frothy & silky drink (optional):
Chill eggnog to at least room temperature
Beat eggs whites with remaining 2 Tbsp sugar until stiff peaks form
Whisk egg whites into eggnog

You do want to be careful while combining your milk & egg mixtures. Eggnog is essentially a loose custard, so you can break it. Overheating your eggs, or not allowing them to temper properly, can cause a grainy consistency. This can be fixed with an immersion blender, but you are better of keeping things low and slow.

Likewise, if you don't wait long enough to mix in your egg whites, your drink will also get clumpy. This is less likely due to having broken the custard, and I even had some difficulty with cold eggnog. Again you can easily correct this with an immersion blender.

Whether you choose to use the egg whites or not (it still tastes wonderful without them), you may notice your eggnog separates over time in the refrigerator. Just give it a quick stir before serving.

DF Veggie "Cream Cheese" Spread [RECIPE]

I've been craving a bagel with cream cheese, but there are some obvious hurdles: dairy allergy, and lack of goof fluffy bagels. My favorite bagel & cream cheese combo is from a little place in Marquette, Michigan called Third Street Bagel. They have the best veggie cream cheese ever, and their bagels are so light & fluffy, so they don't sit like stone weights in your stomach ;)

Locally, I've found 2 very good options for equally good bagels, Jake's Bagels & Deli in Aurora, IL and County Farm Bagels in Winfield, IL & Wheaton, IL. I had even figured out how to duplicate Third Street's veggie spread, but now I had to translate it to a dairy-free version. So I found a few recipes online, combined different pieces that I liked, adn the result is pretty good! I'm not sure I would like this spread without the veggies added, but as a whole it is delicious! It also works well for crackers!

Dairy-Free Veggie Cream Cheese Spread
1 cup raw cashews
2 Tbsp coconut oil
1½ Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp nutritional yeast (or to taste)

1 tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper½ medium carrot, shredded
1 medium scallion (or small yellow onion), diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ medium red bell pepper, diced
1 fresh dill sprig (or ½ Tbsp dried)


Soak cashews for at least 4 hours, or overnight. You could start with boiling water to speed up the soak time to 1-2 hours if you are in a rush. Rinse and gently dry cashews with paper towel  to remove excess water.

Using a high speed blender or food processor, blend the nuts, oils, lemon juice, and spices. This takes a while, and you will probably have to stop ans scrape down the sides of your blender or food processor a few times. Continue blending until you get a smooth consistency. Your mix may be a bit warm at this point, and personally I was not super impressed with the flavor, but don't be discouraged!

Add in your veggies. You can do this by hand or add to your blender/food processor (personally, I chopped everything up fine, but still added to my food processor). Allow to chill in refrigerator before eating, as the cold helps the texture set up and improves the flavor. The longer you can wait, the better it will taste as all those flavors meld together!

I've heard this type of mix lasts for about 1 week in the refrigerator. To be honest I'm moving into week 2 right now and have not notice any spoilage, but trust your instincts. This makes a hefty amount of spread, so you may want to cut the recipe down or freeze half of it for later (I haven't tested freezing it yet, but I've read some success stories & have frozen other cashew based creamy items such as mini cheesecakes).

Dairy Free French Toast Breakfast Casserole [RECIPE]

The BF wanted a breakfast casserole over our 4-day Thanksgiving weekend. When he says breakfast casserole, I immediately think bake french toast. Blueberries & pecans also immediately jumped to mind, but jst because that sounded yummy at the time. So I looked up a few recipes for guidance, then set to making my own dairy-free baked french toast/bread pudding type dish.

As per usual, he walks out while I'm prepping. Normally, he is all for supporting dairy-free options, but he also lives on milk so when he sees the lack of dairy he goes into the meal skeptical (never mind all the times I just don't tell or wait until after the fact, and he never noticed!).

DF French Toast Breakfast Casserole (Optionally TNF)
1 baguette, cubed
1 c blueberries
1/4 c chopped pecans (or walnuts)

For Custard:
8 eggs
2 c almond milk
1/4 white sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon

For Crumble:
1/4 brown sugar
1/4 c rolled oats
1/4 c chopped pecans (or walnuts)
2 Tbsp Fleischmann's margarine

Grease a 9x13 casserole dish
Add cubed bread & blueberries
Top with chopped pecans
Whisk together custard ingredients and pour over bread mixture
Cover and let sit in refrigerator overnight
Remove from refrigerator about 1 hour before baking
Cut margarine into other crumble ingredients
Top casserole before baking
Bake 350F for approximately 45 minutes
Serve with maple syrup

I did not have any on hand, but I bet this would be delicious with some orange juice added to the custard. I'm thinking about 2 Tbsp (maybe up to 1/4 cup). There's just something about orange juice & blueberries that works so well.

For a nut-free option, simply leave out the pecans. They are completely unnecessary, but a favorite of mine. There's enough sweetness in the casserole & other textures in the crumble topping to make this delicious.

Avocado Alfredo

Guys! I just tried the most delicious pasta recipe. It tastes a lot like an alfredo sauce, although if you choose to leave the mooch out it is still pretty tasty. If you can get over how super green the sauce is when you are preparing it, you should definitely give this a try. A lovely lady over in the Deliciously Dairy Free Facebook group posted her recipe, and I barely made any changes lol. So here it is for you to enjoy:

8 oz dry pasta, cooked (1/2 box)
1 c milk alternative (I used unsweetened almond)
1 avocado, mashed
2 tsp oil (I used olive)
1/4 - 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp each: black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder
1/2-1 tsp nutritional yeast (to taste)
1-2 dash white pepper

While your pasta is cooking, warm up the milk in a small sauce pan.
Whisk in mashed avocado and oil until smooth (bring to boil and simmer a few minutes if too thin).
Stir in spices and adjust to taste.
Toss sauce with cooked and drained pasta.

Dairy-Free Pumpkin Pie Dip

I'm going to a Halloween party tonight and wanted to bring a sweet treat I could enjoy (I've also got a friend w/ Crohn's going and one of the hosts is lactose-intolerant). So I did some digging around for DF recipes, but in the end adapted one I've used in the past with DF subs. It turned out great, and nobody could tell there was no dairy!

Dairy-Free Pumpkin Pie Dip
1 c pureed pumpkin (not pie filling)
8 oz df cream cheese (I used Daiya regular)
½ c powdered sugar
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice*
8 oz df whipped topping (I used So Delicious cocowhip, regular not lite)

Let cream cheese and whipped topping soften before making the dip.
Beat together cream cheese, pumpkin puree, powdered sugar, and pumpkin pie spice.
Fold/stir in whipped topping.
Keep refrigerated.

Serve with graham crackers or ginger snaps (I used the TJ brand GF ginger snaps). Alternately, you could crush up the crackers/cookies and do a traditional graham cracker style crust using your favorite DF butter sub and some sugar. I thought about doing this and making mini pumpkin cream pies in a muffin tin, but I am lazy and have leftover pumpkin puree to use up (I'm thinking granola!).

*You can buy pre made pumpkin pie spice or mix up your own. I use the same spices in a variety of other things (including apple pie spice), so I just use this recipe:

Pumpkin Pie Spice
3 Tbsp ground cinnamon
1 ½ tsp ground ginger
1 ½ tsp ground nutmeg
¾ tsp allspice
½ tsp ground cloves

Avocado: The Miracle Fruit

I've heard of avocados being used in smoothies, pudding...brownies? (or was that just black beans...). I have not tried this yet, but am planning too. However, these recommendations are made because of the fatty, creamy texture avocados have. I haven't gone to check out the specialty groceries yet, but I've been getting avocados regularly (mostly for lunch/snack).

Last week, I made baked potatoes and wanted a way to enjoy to sour cream taste without the dairy. My local grocery only has a few flavored Silk yogurts, so playing with that or attempting to make my own quick version using yogurt as the base culture were not going to happen. Fancy shopping trip planned for the future, I decided to see what I could do with what I had. I grabbed an avocado, mashed it up, and added a large amount of lemon juice (like 2-4 times more than you would add to guacamole; yes I know it should be lime for guacamole :p). It was creamy, tangy, and really hit the spot. My only complaint: it was so much more filling than if I had used sour cream! I could barely finish the backed potato and ear of corn.

Today, I wanted to eat some falafel that I picked up at Trader Joe's. Having no luck finding a dairy-free yogurt at Trader Joe's, or unflavored at my local Jewel, I decided to use last week's avocado success and try it out. I mashed up the avocado and added lemon juice as before. Then I added some garlic powder, dried dill, and salt (I meant to add cucumber but forgot I ate it all!). It obviously would have been better if I used fresh garlic & dill (and cucumber), but this was actually quite satisfying and created a very filling lunch.

I definitely recommend giving these a try! They tasted great, were easy to whip up on demand, and overall were probably cheaper than the store-bought alternatives (even with avocados being ridiculously expensive in Illinois).